Microsoft unveils Surface Pro 6, Surface Laptop 2 & Surface Studio 2

At a Tuesday press event Microsoft revealed three new computers in its touch-capable Surface line, leading with the Surface Pro 6, a competitor to both iPads and MacBooks.

The Pro 6 has a redesigned interior for improved cooling, allowing Microsoft to offer eighth-generation quad-core Intel processors as well as 13.5 hours of battery life. The tablet is said to be 67 percent faster than its predecessor.

The device has a 12.3-inch display, and can be configured with up to 16 gigabytes of RAM. It will go on sale in black and platinum colors, starting at $899 for a Core i5 model.

The Surface Laptop 2 is claimed to be 85 percent faster thanks to eighth-gen Intel processors, and have a quieter keyboard, but is otherwise unchanged with a 13.5-inch display and 14.5 hours of battery life. The most important difference compared to the first Laptop may actually be price, since the cheapest model will be $100 less at $899.

Microsoft's new all-in-one desktop, the Surface Studio 2, is headlined by an improved display that's 38 percent brighter with 22 percent more contrast and support for tilt functions with the Surface Pen.

The computer's Nvidia graphics chip is 50 percent faster, and a hybrid storage drive has been swapped for a 2-terabyte SSD. Combined with an upgraded CPU, Microsoft is touting the product as he "fastest Surface ever."

Finally, Microsoft took the wraps off a pair of $350 Surface Headphones. The light gray cans feature user-adjustable noise-canceling technology that can be tuned by turning a dial on the left ear cup. A corresponding dial on the right ear piece controls volume, while four beam-forming microphones -- two per ear -- provide high quality voice reproduction. "Hey Cortana" voice control is also included.

The Pro 6 and Laptop 2 are both launching Oct. 16. No date or price has been set for the Studio 2. Surface Headphones are due to ship in time for the holiday shopping season in the U.S.

Comments

Pretty much the same products with updated specs and a new color. Which makes sense given this event didn't even have a live stream.

In terms of specs, the Studio 2 is already a year out of date, as was the first Studio at launch. Odd that Microsoft is doing this, especially when the Surface Book 2 launched with some brand new hardware last year (one of the first batch of laptops to use quad core U series chips).

Microsoft is holding off their redesigns for next year. Likely to go along with Intel's 10 nm processors.

Those are some nice looking additions to the Surface line-up. Can def see them appealing to quite a few folks. I particularly like the Studio 2. I likely won’t end up buying any of them, PCs aren’t for me, but it’s nice to see Microsoft getting a little of its mojo back.

PS: the headphones at $350 is laughable...it’s like the needed at least one item to remind us they are still Microsoft.

Beautiful designs! What spectacular hardware, now I understand why the Microsoft stores are so crowded when the Apple stores are empty. Well done.

Lol.

Microsoft stores are a wasteland compared to Apple stores. And the hardware is underwhelming, if you’ve ever had the misfortune of tried one. I’ve not typed on the new ones, but Microsoft’s track record with hardware is very spotty.

And unlike one earlier poster, I don't see the lack of USB-C an issue. I wish Apple had retained one legacy USB-A port on their top end MacBook Pro, actually. Pro users demand more, and on the 15" model you have more space, so in light of the high price, why not? Microsoft is merely giving their customer base what it wants. Apple prefers to give us what THEY want. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn't. Even so, no matter how appealing the hardware, I'm a 100% MacOS guy. There's not a single Windows device in my home, nor has there ever been. No need to change that now, even when I think ill of Apple for having removed my beloved SD card slot from 2016 and later MacBook Pros. We gripe about Apple, but with stick with them, hoping they'll make more prudent decisions in the future.

A little underwhelming but I figured that was going to be the case when they opted not to live stream the event. Modest improvements for the Surface line up no doubt but nothing with "wow" factor. Windows is fine if you have to live in that ecosystem, but I honestly didn't see anything that made me want to switch camps. That said, I wasn't bowled over by Apple's event last month either. I remember the "good old" days when Apple keynotes were amazing. Now everything just seems like little incremental improvements no matter where you look.

And the fun part is, the iPhone XS A12 chip runs faster than the chips in these before they add the ‘X’ after it. The A12X is going to be a beast especially because it’s optimized with Metal and leveraging that for AI and machine learning.

And the fun part is, the iPhone XS A12 chip runs faster than the chips in these before they add the ‘X’ after it. The A12X is going to be a beast especially because it’s optimized with Metal and leveraging that for AI and machine learning.

they are making some nice gear, I already placed my main desktop with a PC. my mac book pro is scheduled to be replaced by a dell xp, and this looks like good fit when my ipad pro goes eol.

No Apple discussion board would be complete without some "Apple customer" telling us how they're switching to Android or MS. This has been going on so long I'm surprised there are any Apple customers left.

Although I don’t like Windows myself and will never use it because of that, their hardware design and some of their innovations is spectacular. They integrated touch and desktop computing elegantly and being able to tilt the device like that is great.

The stuff, thick chin iMacs look extremely dated and boring in comparison. It’s about time they made their desktops exciting again.

And the fun part is, the iPhone XS A12 chip runs faster than the chips in these before they add the ‘X’ after it. The A12X is going to be a beast especially because it’s optimized with Metal and leveraging that for AI and machine learning.

I certainly won't switch to this gear. But I have to say, they are catching up. Sure, rounded edges, overall design and even videos are copied from Apple. The question, however, seems to be: Can Apple up the game, think different and get a lead again – or is the competition catching up and be on par with Apple in the next years. Currently, my impression is Apple mainly leads with the Watch (and significantly here!) and maybe AirPods. But regarding Phone, Tablet and Computer – Apple has no clear lead for now.